FA Cup

The FA Cup holds a special place in the football calendar, and is the oldest football competition in the world, founded in 1872. It's the competition that provides the opportunity for small, part-time clubs to potentially go head to head with the big clubs of the Premiership. Can you imagine your local amateur club playing Manchester United? In the FA Cup it's possible!

The Cup is a knockout competition, with pairs drawn completely at random. FA Cup matches usually take place on the home ground on one of the teams playing, and this is usually decided when the teams are drawn. In the history of the FA Cup, only 8 teams who were playing outside the top level of English football have gone on to win the competition.

Every year there are games where the whole squad of one team is worth less than one player on the opposition team. The beauty of the FA Cup is that in each round there is always an underdog to support in at least one of the games. As well as the English FA Cup, there is also a Scottish FA Cup for teams in Scotland, and an FA Women's Cup.

At the end of the competition, the winning team is presented with a trophy - the FA Cup. Manchester United hold the record for the most FA Cup wins (11), followed by Arsenal (10) and Tottenham Hotspur (8). The FA Cup runs from September to May, with the Premier League clubs joining in early January. The FA Cup final is played at England's new national stadium - Wembley.

For FA Cup tickets (www.ticketswitch.com/tickets/slink.buy/vbritain/s.uk_football/Premiership_Football.html) visit our shop, or for a wider range go directly to the club websites.